Free The Wrath of Pan (The Inglewood Chronicles Book 2) by Jeremy Croston Page A

Liz in the backseat.  As soon as all of us were loaded up, John stepped on it and we were off.
    Rosette complained the entire drive back.  From being sent to another country against her will, to not flying first class, to now being stuck with three vampires and a werewolf.  I couldn’t take it anymore.  “Would you please just shut up?!  This ain’t peaches for us either.”
    “Trying to keep me quiet are ye?  I expected more from the one marked by Oberon.”
    “Excuse me?”  Poor Gregory, it just wasn’t in his DNA to not be nice.  “What is this marked by Oberon stuff?”
    “Some nonsense this witch is trying to say I’m cursed with.”
    She kicked the back of my seat.  “Nonsense do ye say?  Oh no, it’s more than that!  This wolf is destined to confront the shadows and end these times of darkness.”
    Gregory looked half amused.  “We are still talking about Victor right?  Not some other wolf?”
    “How many other wolves do ye know that can’t transform?”
    “Umm, that would be none.”  He looked to me for help, but I provided only silence.
    And with that, the witch began rambling on and on about this curse.  The Red that was cursed before me died a painful death at the hands of his pack.  They couldn’t stand the thought of a useless wolf and the Alpha killed him in cold blood.  In fact, all the wolves that had what I had died horrible deaths.  Talk about pleasant, Rosette really knew how to brighten the mood.
    “On that happy note, I think we’re just about back to John’s place.”
    “Is this where I meet the guy who wants to know about Death’s Scythe?”
    “Not quite Miss O’Byrne,” John pulled into the driveway, “at this time we require your help with another problem.  It is a job only someone with certain talents can hope to be successful at.”
    She got excited by that.  “Oh what is it?  Is there a crypt under the house that needs breaking into?  Old tomes ye need translating?”
    “No, we need a young, beautiful, helpless looking girl to act as bait to draw out a feral werewolf.”  The way John put it was rather funny.
    “Bait?!  Ye want me to be bait?  This is insulting and I flat out refuse!”
    It was my turn.  “Listen Rosette, you’re in London.  Besides the people in this car, you’ve got no friends here, only people who want to use you or worse.  Think about what we talked about in Phoenix.  Keep helping us, and we’ll make sure you stay safe.”
    “Is that a threat wolf?  What do ye mean by that?”
    “Miss O’Byrne, on our flight over you told me about your fears with Pan and the mysterious individual Divas was talking to, right?”  She nodded at Gregory.  “We do not wish you ill, but what Victor says makes sense.  You help us, we will help you.”
    She wasn’t happy, but relented.  “Fine, I’ll help ye, but first I want to know exactly what I’m getting into.”
    I took my phone out and gave it to her.  “These are the pictures I took at the crime scenes I visited.  Our wolf has been attacking young women in remote areas with easy exits.  He’s been feeding on their flesh, which has turned him feral.”
    “When ye say feral, what do ye mean?”
    “A feral wolf starts to lose sense of who he is.  Werewolves have complete control over our thoughts, even in wolf form.  Once you dine on human flesh and allow yourself to succumb, the wolf inside begins to take over thoughts.  At some point if not stopped, this wolf will turn into a thoughtless killing monster.”
    Shivers went down her spine.  “How do ye stop him?  Can it be reverted?”
    “Nope, only death awaits this guy.  Besides, even if we could reverse it, he’s killed too many people.  Pack law states he must be killed for endangering our way of life.”
    I don’t like killing.  I’ve had to numerous times in my career, both as the sheriff of Full Moon and in my current line of work.  A few times I’ve actually contemplated giving up this